As the new year rapidly approaches, it is time to set some resolutions. Since you’re here, let’s assume you’ve resolved to watch more horror movies in 2025. Well, I’m here to help you with that with my guide of the most exciting upcoming releases in the genre.
12 Horror Movies to Look forward to in 2025
Please note that the release dates listed here are subject to change, and it’s entirely possible that some of these movies could end up getting pushed to 2026. Also, this list leans toward bigger franchise movies, because those are the titles that get release dates so far ahead of time. The next Longlegs or The Substance will likely be added to the schedule later, sneaking up behind you when you least expect it, as they very well should.
Wolf Man (January 17)
Leigh Whannell returns to the Universal Monsters, after bringing 2020’s The Invisible Man to life. I don’t see a way this update of The Wolf Man starring Christopher Abbott can match the magic of The Invisible Man, but Whannell knows what he’s doing. Each subsequent directorial effort has been an improvement on the last (Insidious: Chapter 3? Solid. Upgrade? Awesome.), but even if he slips slightly, he’s never helmed a less than enjoyable feature.
Companion (January 31)
Is this a “proper” horror movie or more of a killer thriller like Strange Darling or Fresh? I don’t care! It was produced by Barbarian’s Zach Cregger and stars Scream 2022/The Boys’ Jack Quaid, so I’m already seated. Also on hand are Yellowjackets’ Sophie Thatcher, You’s Lukas Gage, and What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillén.
The Monkey (February 21)
Theo James leads this Osgood Perkins adaptation of the Stephen King short story of the same name. That’s a roster of talent that can’t be ignored, even if Perkins doesn’t carry as much mileage with me as he does with many others. His presence will almost certainly prevent this from sinking into relative obscurity like 2023’s The Boogeyman, at the very least.
The Woman in the Yard (March 28)
There is basically no plot information for this upcoming Blumhouse production, which stars Danielle Deadwyler. Frankly, the title makes it sound like a thriller in the vein of Gone Girl or The Woman in the Window, which isn’t necessarily that exciting in 2024. However. The movie was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, returning to the horror genre for the first time since… well, does 2016’s The Shallows count as horror? I say it does. Anyway, it’s been a while, and it’s good to have the director of Orphan and 2005’s House of Wax back in the fold.
28 Years Later (June 20)
The long-awaited sequel to the incredible 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later still feels like a fever dream. Reuniting director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland is a move that could go either way, as their careers have taken widely divergent paths since collaborating on the original 2002 installment. The fact that it’s meant to kick off a sequel trilogy also gives me pause, as designing a new movie to spawn its own sequels is not exactly a recipe for success. All that said… I just don’t know how to not be excited about this one.
M3GAN 2.0 (June 27)
Sure, this sequel will probably have some try-hard scenes attempting to manufacture viral moments. But the first M3GAN was so much more than that dance scene, so if this can capture even half of that magic, we’re in good hands.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (July 18)
While the cast of this legacy sequel is still coming together, there is something exciting about the B-tier slasher franchise finally having a moment to itself in 2025. With just three movies and a TV show (two of which most people have never seen), the I Know What You Did Last Summer universe is a little sparse, so there’s something fun about it really being the only major, classic slasher franchise project we’re due to get this year.
Saw XI (September 26)
Speaking of major franchises… Can the crew behind Saw X capture lightning in a bottle twice? I’d sure like to see them try. While this movie was delayed from its original 2023 date, this is the closest we’ve gotten in some time to the classic era where they were just cranking one of these out every Halloween. That process doesn’t always result in the best movies, but the “fuck it, we’re shooting in three weeks” mentality tends to lead to wild choices more often than not (see Jason vs. the telekinetic girl in Friday VII), because there simply isn’t time to question them.
The Bride! (September 26)
I’m glad that, instead of continuing to try and make the Dark Universe happen over and over again, Universal now seems content to hand the keys to a particular monster over to an interesting filmmaker. This new take on Bride of Frankenstein, written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, also features a stacked-as-hell cast that includes Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Penélope Cruz, Annette Bening, and Jake Gyllenhaal (now how in the hell did they manage to get him?). The Bride of Frankenstein is also woefully underrepresented in Universal monster movies in general, making this new take even more exciting.
Scary Movie (TBA 2025)
I’m personally not a fan of most of the Scary Movie movies, but that’s exactly why this reboot or whatever the hell it intrigues me so much. What exactly does one of those mid-2000s overstuffed parody movies look like in 2024? I gotta know!
The Ritual (TBA 2025)
Listen to this Exorcist-ass logline: “Two priests — one questioning his faith and one reckoning with a troubled past — must put aside their differences to save a possessed young woman through a difficult and dangerous series of exorcisms.”
Obviously it’s a huge ripoff, but what if I told you this movie stars Al Pacino and Dan Stevens? Now what can that be? This is another outing for the morbidly curious, perhaps, but color me intrigued.
Final Destination: Bloodlines (TBA 2025)
Production on this Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein-helmed installment in the supernatural slasher franchise has wrapped, so this movie is happening, y’all. I say this as a stalwart defender of the fourth movie, so feel free to discount that one when I say that, pound for pound, the Final Destination is one of the most satisfying and consistent modern horror franchises, delivering thrills and spills to the point that you could throw a dart at a list of the five extant movies and have a good time with whichever gets chosen for you. Hopefully, this revival continues that trend.
Other horror movies slated to premiere in 2025 (many of which I’m also excited for, but this list ain’t a novel, so it had to stop somewhere): Heart Eyes (February 7), Vicious (February 28), Sinners (March 7), Untitled Insidious Movie (August 29), The Conjuring: Last Rites (September 5), The Black Phone 2 (October 17), Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (December 5), Hell House LLC: Lineage (TBA 2025), Thanksgiving 2 (TBA 2025), Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble(TBA 2025)